I've read all the replies but I have another idea. It involves using a third
software, to optimize the heightfield data. This is called a triangle
decimation. The output will be mesh2 for POV-Ray, and although this format
uses more memory on file, it may still end up using less memory, because all
redundant triangles have been removed. Your heightfield is very bumpy
though, and only triangles that don't contribute much to the shape will be
removed. I don't know exactly how many percent of memory will be freed.

It can be tricky to find freeware applications for this purpose, but it's
possible. The wizup optimiser is a little standalone program for triangle
decimation - and there is a free version of it - but you will need a
converter to get the heightfield into wizup. I think the format needs to be
vrml... (I use AccuTrans for converting but it's not freeware.)

There's another option that I'm willing to do: You send me the image, and I
return it to you as an optimised mesh2.

Regards,
Hugo

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